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What Kinds of Trade Liberalization Agreements Do People in Developing Countries Want?

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  • Gabriele Spilker
  • Thomas Bernauer
  • Víctor Umaña

Abstract

One of the most striking developments in the global economy in the past decades is the rapid proliferation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs), with many of them concluded among or with participation of developing countries. On the presumption that current popular debates on trade policy are not so much about whether citizens want free trade but rather what kinds of trade liberalization they want, we examine individual trade policy preferences with regard to PTAs that can vary in content along several dimensions. To that end we carried out conjoint choice experiments embedded in representative surveys in three developing countries that differ strongly in income levels, political system, and trade liberalization history: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Vietnam. We conceptualize trade policy preferences as preferences over the scale and scope of trade liberalization, environmental and labor standards, and labor market access (migration). Two main findings emerge. First, non-economic considerations, such as sympathy/antipathy toward particular countries and environmental and labor rights concerns influence citizens’ preferences at least as much as factors based on standard economic logic. Second, preferences over particular facets (attributes) of trade liberalization, that is PTA content, are surprisingly consistent across countries, despite strong differences in macro-economic and political context.

Suggested Citation

  • Gabriele Spilker & Thomas Bernauer & Víctor Umaña, 2018. "What Kinds of Trade Liberalization Agreements Do People in Developing Countries Want?," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 510-536, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:ginixx:v:44:y:2018:i:3:p:510-536
    DOI: 10.1080/03050629.2018.1436316
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    Cited by:

    1. Tom Coupé & Oleksandr Shepotylo, 2021. "Popular Support For Trade Agreements And Partner Country Characteristics: Evidence From An Unexpected Election Outcome," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(1), pages 549-566, January.
    2. E. Keith Smith & Dennis Kolcava & Thomas Bernauer, 2024. "Stringent sustainability regulations for global supply chains are supported across middle-income democracies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Rudolph, Lukas & Freitag, Markus & Thurner, Paul, 2021. "The Comparative Legitimacy of Arms Exports - A Conjoint Experiment in Germany and France," SocArXiv r73pv, Center for Open Science.

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